In 1991, he opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq and was later critical of state sanctions against Iraq. In 1992, he participated at the UN Conference for the environment in Rio de Janeiro, speaking about the centrality of the human person.

In June 1994, Martino demanded at the UN that a safe haven be created for Tutsi refugees in Rwanda in order to save over 30 000 lives in Kabgayi.[1]

Archbishop Martino was Pope John Paul II's official representative at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and he had the task of defending the Church's pro-life teachings before a European-American bloc that strongly supported abortion on demand. Martino was able to find support from Latin-American and Arab countries that were anti-abortion, and the Cairo conference was ultimately inconclusive.

Later in 1995, he participated at the World Conference on Women in Beijing, echoing John Paul's positions in his letter to women. He has been on diplomatic mission to Côte d'Ivoire to settle disputes there.

Concerning the case of Terri Schiavo, Martino publicly intervened in order to save Terri, to no avail.[2]

On 6 November 2006, after the death sentence had been passed on Saddam Hussein, Martino said that:

...punishing a crime with another crime – which is what killing for vengeance is – would mean that we are still at the point of demanding an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth...

He pleaded for clemency for Hussein and called for a peace conference aimed at solving all the major conflicts in the Middle East and reiterated his position that invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led coalition was wrong.

On the topic of genetically modified organisms, he has advocated a cautious use of GMOs, asserting that they may indeed help feed the hungry, although they will most likely not solve all food problems on earth.

On 14 June 2007, Martino urged Catholics to withhold donations to Amnesty International in response to the group's decision to advocate in favor of access to abortion in rare cases, which placed Amnesty in conflict with the Catholic view of the human fetus as a rights-holder.

Later in 2007, he participated in the Annapolis conference on peace in the Holy Land. He has led high-level diplomatic talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and has much experience in Mideast diplomacy. He has represented the Vatican view of moral equivalence and has said that both sides are "guilty" and that it is "necessary to separate them, like two fighting siblings are separated", and make them "sit down to negotiate."[3]

In July 2010, Cardinal Martino assumed the position of Honorary President of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a Rome based organisation established to promote human dignity 'based on the recognition that man is made in the image and likeness of God.' [5]

On 8 October 2011, he was named special papal envoy to the celebration of the centenary of the cathedral of Yangon, Burma, programmed for 8 December 2011. Cardinal Martino was to meet Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, a Buddhist, who was to be in attendance. Representatives of all religions in Burma, where Catholics represent only around one percent of the population, were invited to the event, when Martino was to read a message from Pope Benedict XVI. The envoy was then to have lunch with local clergy and "special guests". The pope called on Martino to transmit "a message of goodwill" to political and religious authorities in Myanmar, where the military dictatorship has made a number of gestures of greater openness in recent months.[4]

On 23 November 2012, Renato Raffaele Martino turned 80 years old and lost the right to participate in a papal conclave[5] and so did not participate in the 2013 conclave which elected Pope Francis. However, Cardinal Martino was one of the six cardinals who made the public act of obedience on behalf of the College of Cardinals to the new pope at his papal inauguration.[a][6][7]

On 12 June 2014, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the incumbent Cardinal Protodeacon, was elevated to the rank of Cardinal-Priest, and Cardinal Martino, as the next senior cardinal deacon, succeeded him as the new Protodeacon, having refused to be elevated to the rank of Cardinal-Priest.[8]